Homesite Insurance Review: Home and Renters Insuance
Editor's Rating
Homesite home and renters insurance rates are expensive. It offers practical coverage options, but lacks the reputation for high-quality customer service usually associated with top providers.
The coverage provided by Homesite's basic liability insurance coverage falls a little short of what's commonly offered by other providers. But it could be a good fit if you're particularly concerned about mold coverage.
Consider these insurers as alternatives to Homesite
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Homesite insurance: Our thoughts
Homesite insurance is significantly more expensive than its competitors. However, home and renters insurance policies include protection against mold, which most major insurers do not include as part of a base policy.
Homesite's coverage add-ons are very practical, but it's personal liability coverage is lacking. You have to pay extra for protection against libel or slander suits, which comes standard from most insurers.
If you purchased homeowners or renters insurance through Progressive or Geico, you might already have coverage from Homesite. The company underwrites policies for both insurers.
Unfortunately, Homesite also has poor customer service ratings, which cite a slow, unresponsive claims process and unsatisfactory claims payouts.
Compare Homesite to other top auto insurers | |
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Bottom line: Home and renters insurance policies from Homesite are expensive, and customer service is subpar. Unless you put a high value on mold coverage, you can likely find better prices and service elsewhere.
Homesite home insurance
Homesite home insurance rates
Homesite's homeowners insurance rates are 91% more expensive than the average of its competitors' rates. The company only offers only a few discounts to help lower the cost of a policy, making it unlikely that you'll save enough to make its prices competitive.
Find Cheap Homeowners Insurance Quotes in Your Area
Homesite home insurance rates vs. competitors
Company | $150,000 | $250,000 | $350,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allstate | $513 | $705 | $1,057 |
| State Farm | $542 | $736 | $899 |
| Travelers | $632 | $822 | $1,098 |
| Homesite | $1,529 | $2,051 | $2,800 |
Homesite's online quote tool is quick and easy to use because it pulls in information about your home using public records. However, the system makes it difficult to customize some coverages. When you input your home's address, Homesite automatically estimates its value.
While you can add extra coverage based on the value of your home, you cannot lower your desired amount of dwelling coverage — even if Homesite's estimate isn't correct.
Homesite home insurance coverages
Homesite home insurance comes with coverage that's mostly in line with the industry's standard protections.
The main difference between Homesite and other homeowners insurance companies is the way its liability protection works. Typically, personal liability covers expenses from lawsuits brought against you for injury or property damage, including libel and slander.
Although Homesite insurance includes personal liability in its regular policies, you must purchase an extra endorsement to receive protection against libel and slander.
Homesite also includes mold protection for your home's structure and mold liability in its base policy. While these coverages could be useful for some homeowners, they contribute to Homesite's high insurance costs, making it a poor choice for homeowners looking for the cheapest rates.
What's covered by a Homesite home insurance policy?
Coverage | Description |
|---|---|
| Dwelling coverage | Covers you for damage or loss of your home's structure if it’s caused by a covered peril |
| Personal property coverage | Covers damage, destruction and theft of possessions |
| Loss of use coverage | Reimburses you for expenses associated with being unable to stay in your home due to a covered loss |
| Personal liability coverage | Covers your expenses if you're sued by another person for injury or property damage |
| Medical payments to others | Covers medical bills if someone suffers an injury on your property |
Even though many of the upgrades available with Homesite insurance aren't unique, each endorsement is practical, and most homeowners will find them to be useful forms of extra protection. Homesite's extra coverages include:
- Identity theft protection: Covers up to $15,000 of expenses incurred due to identity theft, such as legal fees and fraudulent credit card charges. You could also be reimbursed for legal fees and lost work time.
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Personal injury protection: Provides protection from claims of slander, libel and invasion of privacy. Although this protection often comes standard from other providers, you must extend the limit of liability on your Homesite home insurance policy if you want this coverage.
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Extended replacement cost coverage: If the cost to replace your home is greater than your policy limits, extended replacement cost coverage would provide you with additional coverage of up to 25% or 50% of your dwelling coverage.
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Coverage for valuables: Offers extra protection for valuable items like jewelry, artwork, musical instruments and sporting equipment.
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Equipment breakdown: Covers the cost to repair or replace household appliances damaged by mechanical or electrical breakdowns.
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Service lines coverage: Covers the cost to repair or replace underground wiring or piping that supplies your utilities.
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Water backup or sump pump overflow coverage: Pays to repair damage due to flooding caused by backed-up pipes or a faulty sump pump.
Homesite flood insurance
Homesite also offers separate flood insurance policies for homeowners who live in a flood zone. The company has a number of different coverage levels available, including building-only coverage, contents-only coverage, combined coverage and coverage for businesses.
Homesite homeowners insurance discounts
Homesite offers a number of discounts, including:
- Home purchase discount
- Bundle your homeowners insurance with auto coverage from CONNECT by American Family for a 10% discount
- Receive a discount if you're an elderly homeowner
- Own a home with safety equipment installed, such as centrally monitored burglar alarms and fire sprinkler systems
Your available discounts may differ depending on where you live. In any case, if you’re eligible for discounts, Homesite will automatically apply them to your home insurance premium.
Homesite renters insurance
Homesite renters insurance rates
Homesite renters insurance is also more costly than its competitors. A policy from Homesite costs $24 per month, which is 54% more expensive than average.
Find Cheap Renters Insurance Quotes in Your Area
Company | Monthly rate | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lemonade | $8 | $94 |
| State Farm | $11 | $127 |
| Travelers | $18 | $215 |
| Allstate | $19 | $222 |
| Homesite | $24 | $293 |
One contributor to Homesite's high rates is its mold coverage. Homesite's base policy includes mold protection for your belongings and mold liability. Neither coverage comes standard with most major insurers. Some offer it as an additional coverage while others exclude mold damage from your policy, meaning they won't cover costs associated with mold remediation or repairs.
The additional coverage could be useful for renters concerned about mold, but those looking for the best rates can find cheaper coverage elsewhere.
Homesite renters insurance coverages
Homesite offers all of the standard coverage options you would expect from a renters policy.
However, its personal liability coverage does not include claims against slander, libel and invasion of privacy, all of which come standard with most major insurers. This protection is available to add to your Homesite renters policy, but it costs extra.
Additionally, Homesite includes mold protection as a standard coverage, something that most insurers do not offer.
Renters can customize their insurance policy with the following optional coverages:
- Identity theft protection, which covers costs you may incur if your identity is stolen.
- Extra coverage for valuables like jewelry, cameras or computers.
- Water backup/sump pump coverage pays to replace belongings that are damaged by flooding due to backed up pipes or sump pump failure.
- Refrigerated property coverage, which replaces spoiled food in the event of a power outage.
- High-risk animal liability coverage, which extends your liability insurance to cover specific dog and exotic animal breeds.
Homesite renters insurance discounts
Renters insurance discounts with Homesite are very limited. The company offers a safety discount for installing centrally monitored fire or burglar alarm systems, a 10% discount for bundling your renters insurance with a car insurance policy from CONNECT by American Family, and a discount for older, retired renters.
Homesite customer service ratings and reviews
Industry reviewer | Score |
|---|---|
| AM Best | A (Excellent) |
| J.D. Power | Customer satisfaction: 779, claims satisfaction: 862 |
| NAIC | 3.28 |
Homesite insurance is often poorly rated for its service. J.D. Power ranked Homesite in last place out of 22 companies for its overall customer satisfaction. It also landed at the bottom in J.D. Power's property claims satisfaction study, which measures satisfaction with settlements, claims servicing, estimation and repair processes.
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index, Homesite receives three times as many complaints as a typical insurer of its size. The majority of Homesite insurance complaints are for unsatisfactory claims settlements, policy cancellations and claim handling delays.
Homesite's financial strength has been given an A rating by A.M. Best, which evaluates insurers' abilities to pay claims and meet other financial obligations.
Homesite insurance claims
If you need to file a claim with Homesite, you can do so through Homesite’s online customer portal, My Policy. You can also file a claim over the phone by calling the Homesite claims phone number at (866) 621-4823.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Homesite Insurance?
Homesite is owned by American Family Insurance, also known as AmFam.
What insurance products does Homesite offer?
Homesite offers home, renters, condo, flood and commercial insurance. It also offers life insurance, which is underwritten by American Family. In addition, Homesite customers can purchase car insurance through CONNECT by American Family Insurance.
Does Homesite underwrite policies for other insurance companies?
Yes, Homesite underwrites home, renters and small business insurance for both Progressive and
Methodology
To compare Homesite's home insurance premiums, we collected quotes for $150,000, $250,000 and $350,000 of dwelling coverage. Our sample homeowner is a 45-year-old married man living in a home built in 1977 in New Jersey with no prior claims. The policy included the following coverages:
Coverage | Limit |
|---|---|
| Personal liability | $100,000 |
| Medical payments | $5,000 |
| Deductible | $1,000 |
Quadrant Information Services supplied the rate data for this home insurance analysis. Rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and are intended for comparative purposes only. Your own quotes may differ.
To compare renters insurance premiums, we collected quotes based on a 30-year-old single man living in New Jersey. The policy included the following coverages:
Coverage | Limit |
|---|---|
| Personal property | $30,000 |
| Personal liability | $100,000 |
| Medical payments | $1,000 |
| Deductible | $500 |
Homesite quotes also include $10,000 of mold protection and $50,000 of mold liability, which is the minimum included in its policies. Other insurers did not offer this coverage to compare rates.